Spelt, Partridge, Dried Pears - River Cottage

Ingredients

• 2 oven-ready partridges
• About 25g butter, softened
• A few sprigs of thyme
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the spelt or barley mix
• 1 tablespoon rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 150g pearled spelt or pearl barley, rinsed
• About 600ml chicken, game or vegetable stock (or use plain water)
• 50g dried pears, roughly chopped
• Grated zest of 1 lemon, plus the juice of ½ lemon